


When You Were There

by JustAnotherNPC



Category: Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart (Cartoon)
Genre: Confessions, Friends to Lovers, M/M, mao mao learns about his crush after everyone else already knows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-24 21:14:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22024543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherNPC/pseuds/JustAnotherNPC
Summary: It's Badgerclops' birthday (maybe?) and Adorabat won't rest without throwing him a surprise party. She convinces Mao Mao to join her, which makes Mao reflect on his feelings about his best friend for the first time in turn.
Relationships: Badgerclops/Mao Mao Mao
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41





	When You Were There

“Badgerclops!!!” 

Adorabat’s excited voice rang from the entrance of the house to where Mao Mao and Badgerclops were sitting in the kitchen. She fluttered in only a moment later with a typical bright-eyed expression and something clutched in her flesh claw.

“Whoa dude, what’s the emergency?” Badgerclops was careful to finish chewing before he spoke, lest Mao scold him again for both talking with a full mouth at the dinner table and setting a bad example for their young charge. 

“What’s that paper, Adorabat?” Mao Mao asked, quicker to detect the obvious source of her enthusiasm. 

“Mail for Badgerclops!” Adorabat flew into her seat at the table and handed off an envelope into Badgerclops’ claw. “I found it on the porch just now!” 

“We get mail out here...?” Badgerclops wondered out loud. He flipped the envelope over to see his name written on the flat side. Lifting his robotic arm, he brought out a small, dainty looking letter opener that appeared to be sparingly used and tore open the top of the envelope with it. Reaching into the slit, he pulled out a small handwritten note as both Adorabat and Mao Mao leaned over the table to get a better look.  


Badgerclops opened his eye to read and quickly made a surprised exclamation. “Oh! It’s from my dad.” 

“Your dad? He’s never written to you before.” Mao leaned even closer across the table, trying and failing to compensate for his lack of height.

“I mean, we’ve literally never had a permanent address until now. Where would he have sent them?” 

Mao opened his mouth to form a rebuttal, only to be cut off by Adorabat instead. “What’s it say what’s it say!?”

Badgerclops looked back down at the letter. “Oh he’s… wishing me a happy birthday. Wow he remembered AND sent me something.” 

Adorabat gasped, practically sucking in all of the air in the room as she did. She zipped out of her chair and right into Badgerclops’ face. “BADGERCLOPS IS IT YOUR BIRTHDAY!?”

Badgerclops reflexively pulled his head back to clear his personal space and brought the card closer to his own face again. “Uh, I guess so. It must have slipped my mind again.” 

Adorabat’s expression immediately fell, and she landed back onto the tabletop. “Again?” she echoed. “What do you mean ‘again’?” Something occurred to her and she spun around in a flash to face Mao Mao. “Mao Mao, you must’ve remembered right? You’re best friends!” 

Mao felt a flash of red in his face upon being put on the spot so suddenly. He opened his mouth to stutter out a response, but before he could once again Badgerclops interjected, likely on purpose to save him from the interrogation. “I mean, Mao and I traveled around so much that after a while the days sorta just blended together y’know? We both sorta just stopped keeping track of our own,” he set down the letter. “And I mean, before that the Thicket Thieves were never very sentimental anyway, so... I guess I haven’t really celebrated one in a pretty long time.” 

Stunned, Adorabat looked back and forth between both of them. “Neither of you have celebrated your birthdays in years…?” 

Adorabat looked like she was about to cry for them, so Mao did his best to compose himself. “W- well Adorabat, as you get older birthdays don’t… quite have the same treatment as they do when you’re a kid-” 

Mao felt instant regret as the words left his mouth, and he paused as Adorabat gasped again. He caught movement in his peripheral vision as Badgerclops brought his hand to his own face.

Thankfully, Mao didn’t need to continue explaining as Badgerclops once again came in to bail him out. “Mao and I have just never really been big on birthdays I guess.” It was clear he was choosing his words more carefully in contrast. “I mean, when I was a kid they were alright but...” 

Mao swallowed his pride and jumped in. “My family never held birthdays in very high regard,” he looked off to the side. “At least, when I was young my celebrations weren’t… particularly festive...”

Mao kept his eyes trained elsewhere as he tried to avoid thinking too deeply about all the times he celebrated his birthday alone with only Geraldine to keep him company.

Focusing back in on the conversation, he watched as Badgerclops patted Adorabat’s head with his flesh arm. “It’s alright Adorabat, you don’t have to feel bad for us for missing a few birthdays.”

Adorabat, still struggling with the concept, just dropped her head. “Okay…” 

Badgerclops opened his eye and smiled. Mao suddenly felt a nervous tingle rush through his system. It shocked him somewhat, an unfamiliar emotion. In his head he couldn’t quite figure out what it was or why he felt it. Something about watching Badgerclops be so gentle with Adorabat. The morning light coming in through the window and reflecting off his fur. The subtle way that same light shined in his eye now that he had it open.  


Realizing how long he’d been dwelling in his thoughts, Mao Mao blinked and tried his best to make it seem as though he hadn’t just been completely lost. 

“Anyway, I’m still surprised that my dad wrote to me at all.” Badgerclops focused his attention back to the letter on the table. “... How’d he even find our address? I don’t even know our address.” 

Adorabat perked up again. “Well, maybe you should write back to him! Y’know, since it’s been so long since you talked!” 

“Oh. I mean, yeah I guess why not.” 

In a flash, the little bat sprung up off the table again. “Great! Why don’t you go into town and get stationary and writing supplies,” she pushed Badgerclops out of his chair and began to pull him towards the door. “And- uhhh I’ll stay here and Mao Mao can teach me that pretty swirly handwriting he does so we can all help you write!”

Mao stood from his seat and followed the pair, visibly confused. “It’s called Calligraphy.”

“Don’t we already have plenty of writing stuff here?” Badgerclops objected to his current situation.

“Nope! Definitely ran out so don’t bother checking.” Adorabat continued to assert, now closing in on the front door of HQ. 

“But I-”

“See you when you get back! Bye!!!” 

The door slammed shut leaving Badgerclops outside and Mao Mao and Adorabat inside in silence. “Man, why do I always have to do the shopping…” He mumbled from the other side, then soft footsteps made their way away from the door.

“... Adorabat, what was that all about?” Mao Mao finally spoke up.

Adorabat flew into his face now. “MAO MAO! We have to throw Badgerclops a surprise birthday party!”

“What?” Mao backed away. “I thought we agreed not to make a big deal out of it.”

Adorabat perched herself on the back of the sofa. “Mao Mao, in Pureheart Valley celebrating birthdays is just what we DO. If anyone in town heard it was his birthday they’d do the same…” She stopped and looked down. “And besides, I’m sure it would mean a lot to him if we did, and… Just think about all the things he’s done, and all the times he’s been there for us… We should take this chance to do something *really* special for him, don’t you think?”

Mao Mao stood still, left red-faced by what Adorabat had said. All of the times Badgerclops was there, all of the times Mao Mao had been grateful to see his face, hear his voice, feel his warmth, both physically and emotionally. As far back as when the two of them had begun to travel together…

Mao cleared his throat. “Agh, um. Yeah okay, we can throw him a party.”

**Author's Note:**

> originally i was going to post the entire fic at one time but seeing as this first part ended up taking me 2 months I decided it might be easier on myself to split it up. here's hoping i can have the next parts up before another two months pass lol
> 
> also this is my first mao mao fic! i hope y'all like it as much as i love them


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